Machine for taping joints of electric cables



Dec. 27, 1927 1,653,894

| EMANUEL! MACHINE FOR TAPING JOINTS 0F ELECTRIC QABLES Filed Nov. 19.1926 3 Fig. I. F g-Z.

Inventor": Luigi Emomueh,

His Attovneg.

Patented Dec. 27, 1927.

UNITED STATES- 1,653,894 PATENT OFFICE.-

LUIGI EHANUELI, OF MILAN, ITALY, ASSIGNOR TO SOCIETA ITALIANA PIBELLI,OF MILAN, ITALY, A CORPORATION OF ITALY.

MACHINE FOR TAPING JOINTS OF ELECTRIC CABLES.

Applicatlon filed November 19, 1926, Serial 1T0. 149,446, and in ItalyAugust 10, 1926.

Cables designed to be located underground, either in conduits or buriedin the earth to carry electricity, are of necessity made in lengths orsections which after heing laid in place have to be united ne to theother to form a continuous con uctor. In the simplest form such cablesfor high tension purposes comprise a conductor either stranded or solid,a covering of insulation W therefor such as impregnated paper tape, anda lead sheath. In joining the ends of two adjacent sections the, leadsheath is cut back for a certain distance and the'insulation, commonlyreferred to as factory insulation,

is also cut away, usually on a taper, to expose the ends of theconductors. Theends ofthe conductors are then united by a sleeve whichis soldered to both. after which tape is applied to the desiredthickness and the whole enclosed by a casing which is soldered to thelead sheath. The space between the taped joint and the metal casing isthen filled with an insulating compound.

The joints are the most delicate parts of a cable and therefore must bevery carefully and accurately made. The tape used in making the jointmust be uniformly and tightly wound on the connector and over thecutaway factory insulation which latter usually w is tapered from aboutthe full diameter at the outer ends of the joint to the connector. Inhandling'the tape care must be exercised by the jointer to have cleanhands so as to avoid leaving any traces of moisture or acidity on thetape as itis well known that both of these noticeably reduce thebreakdown voltage of; the joint. As a general thing, this taping of thejoint has been done by hand which consumes a great deal of time. Anattempt has been made to tape these joints with a machine but suchmachine is relatively slow in operation because it applies only a singletape at a time. and necessitates considerable handling of the tape bythe jointer.

It is not uncommon in high tension cables to have the taped ptirtion ofthe joint 36 inches long with a maximum diameter at the center of 6inches. Such a joint'may require as much as 4500 feet .of one inch papertape involving about 6000 turns to complete it, from which will readilybe appreciated the large amount of work involved and the high costthereof.

M y invention has for its object the provision of a joint-taping machineof improved construction which will rapidly and a plurality of tapesbeing simultaneously wound on a conductor joint; Fig. 2 is an end viewof the same; F1g. 3 1s a similar view showing how the friction on thetape can be increased: Fig. 4 is a viewof the template employed to givethe proper outline to the joint and which also serves as a tape-cuttingmeans; Fig. 5 is a plan view of the machine without the rolls of tape-Fig. 6 is an end view of said machine and i s. 7 and 8 illustrate-formsof joints adapts to be taped by my improved machine.

In Figs. 1, 7 and 8, 10 and 11 indicate sections of a conductor whichare to be united and insulated. 12 indicates a connector for uniting theconductor ends and through which current flows. The factory wound orapplied insulation 13 may be cut away on a curve as indicated at 14 orit may be cut away on a long taper as indicated at 15 in Fig. 8. Aroundthe connector and covering the adjacent ends of the factory insulationis wound insulation which advantageously but not necessarily may be aroll of impregnated paper sheeting 16, said paper being wider at theinner end and gradually decreasing in width to the outer end. The paperis first loosely wrapped around the connector and then tightened bywinding from the outer turn. The spaces between the edges of the rolland the factory insulation are then filled with'treated tape 17 whichmay be wound by hand or by a small machine, as desired. The object is tomake the parts thus far assembled as nearly as possible into a truecylinder and prevent voids.

Referring now to the taping machine, a carrieris provided whichcomprises a pair of end heads 18 and 19 which are connected byaxially-extending rods or tubes 20 and as spacers.

which maintain them in spaced relation. As shown both rods and tubes areemployed, the rods uniting the heads and the tubes acting freely onbearings 21 which are made in halves and clamped by bolts on theleadcovered ends of the cable. The bearings have flanges 21 to preventrelative endwise movement of the machine and conductor. Each head ismade in two parts whlch are united by a hinge 22, Fig. 6, on one side ofthe axis ofthe cable, and by a removable pin 23 on the other. Splittingthe heads 1n this manner facilitates mounting the machine in place onthe cable. Since this IS customarily done in a manhole where space is ata premium the advantage of theconstruction will be apparent. One or bothof the heads are provided with handles 24 for turning the carrier toapply the tapes to the 'oint.

1 Instead of applying only a single tape at a time which is a slowprocess whether done by hand or otherwise, I simultaneously apply alarge number of impregnated tapes and so arrange them that the tape fromone roll partly overlaps the tapesfrom two other rolls. This isaccomplished by a very slmple but eifective arrangement. Two sets ofrolls 25 and 26 are provided, one set being mounted on one side ofthejoint and the other set on the other side. By preference the axes ofthe two sets of rolls are in the same diametrical plane but this exactarrangement is not essential. The real point involved is that the tapefrom one roll is laid on first and this is followed by the tape fromanother roll and in such manner that one overlaps the other. In otherwords, the axis of one set of rolls is singularly displaced with respectto the axis of another set of rolls, and the rolls of one set areaxially displaced or staggered with respectto those of the second set inan axial plane whereby the tapes are caused to overlap. As anillustration but not as a limitation of my invention, I have constructeda machine utilizing 36 rolls of one inch tape in each set so that atotal of 72 rolls of tape are simultaneously applied to the joint.

The rolls may be mounted about the rods or tubes which connect the endheads as shown in Fig. 1 but a better way is to mount them on separatesupports such as thinwalled tubes 27 shown in Fig. 5. The rolls of eachset are in frictional contact with each other at the sides so as to puttension on each tape 28. At the end of each set is an adjustable meansto increase the friction. The rolls may turn in the same direction but abetter way is tohave alternate rolls in each set turn in oppositedirections since the friction effect is then distributed uniformly overthe entire assemblage rather than being limited to end friction only.This reversal of The heads are mounted to turnmotion is indicated inFig. 2 where the small full line arrows indicate the direction ofrotation of one-half of the rolls in one set and stead of passing thetapes directly to thev joint from the rolls they may be first passedover two of the head connecting rods 20 as shown in Fi 3. This furtherincreases the tension on tie tapes.

In order that the jointer may determine the correct amount of tape to bewound on the joint and obtain the correct shape to properly insulate thejoint to distribute the electrical stresses, a template 29 is providedwhich is removably attached to the end heads. The template is also usedas a cutting edge by means of which the jointer can tear off the unusedportion of each roll when the desired amount of tape from each roll hasbeen wound on the joint.

Referring more specifically to Figs. 5 and 6, 18 and 19 indicate thedivided or hinged end heads and 21 the supporting bearings therefor. Theheads are slotted at 30 to per- .mit of the rolls and their supportsbeing mounted in place by an inward movement of the supports toward theconductor. Each support comprises a tube 27 into-the ends of whichextend hollow members 31. Each member has a screw stud 32 with squarebase, on the threaded end of which is seated a nut that is moved by thesmall hand-wheel 33. The member 31 has a shoulder which engages the headand forms a seat. 34 at the right hand end indicates an adjusting nutand 35 a lock nut. Between the nut 35 and the last' roll of the set aretwo washers splined on the member 31 and between which are springfingers 36, the purpose of which is to equalize the pressure over theside of the roll instead of localizing it at one point as mightotherwise be the case. By changmg the position of the nuts the rolls canbe adjusted endwise to obtain the proper overlap of the sets of rolls onboth sides of the carrier.

Referring to the left hand end, 37 indicates a collar which is splinedon the member 31, said. collar exerting endwise pressure on theseries orset of rolls. Outside of it is a coiled compression spring 38 whichexerts pressure on the collar at all times. The member 31 is held in theleft hand head in the1 same manner as the one at the opposite en Thetemplate 29 comprises a rather thin piece of sheet metal the inner edgeof which defines the finished shape of the jo nt. It 15. showndiagrammatically in Fig. 4 and as constructed in Fig. 5. The corners ofthe said inner edge serve as cutting'edges on which the tapes can betorn. These tapes are usually made of tough paper impregnated with asuitable insulating compound although tapes of other material may beused. ,The template is held at its ends by slotted clamps 39 whichengage the heads, screw studs and wing nuts 40.

The joints having been prepared as indicated in Figs. 7 or 8, themachine is mounted in place on the conductor with .a full set of rollson each support 27. Thejoint may be given a partial or complete coat ofsticky compound and the ends of all the tapes are pressed thereon, orthe tapes themselves may be sufiiciently sticky to adhere to the joint.The machine is then turned b hand thus winding on the joint layers ofape, a part from one set of rolls and the balance from the other, thetape on one set overlapping that from the other as clearly shown inFi 1. This offsetting of one set of rolls wit respect to the other isattained by positioning the spring pressed washers 36 on one support 27a little in advance of those on the other support. As the work proceedsand the end layers or turns of tape reach the template the jointer tearsthe tape at these points. The successive tapes are torn in the samemanner, one after the other, until the whole joint assumes the shapeshown in the lower half of Fig. 4. The last tape is stuck down either byreason of its impregnating compound or by other adhesive. The

fact that the tape from each roll except the last is overlapped byanother tape-results in binding them all firmly in place. The fact thatthe machine winds many tapes and over the full length of the jointatthestart gradually decreasing in number as the final contour is approached,results in a very great saving of time over winding a single ta e backand forth. It saves much handhng of tape, thereby avoiding the danger ofmoistureand acidity due to contact of the jointcrs hands therewith.

It is to be noted that with this machine the tape from each roll isbuiltup layer by layer, in a direction perpendicular to the axis of theconductor instead of progressing from one end of the joint to the otheras 'is' tion of voids which are highly injurious in joints of thischaracter. Moreover, the tapes are uniformly tens oned which isconducive to good results: This is chiefly due to the. fact that therolls are in frictional contact on each side so that one roll acts as abrake or friction device for the others.

After the joint is properly taped as described it is encased as usual ina closed metallic covering the ends of which are soldered to the leadsheath. These coverings have one or more normally closed openingsthrough which insulat ng compound may be forced to fill all spacesbetween the taping and the walls of the covering.

Another and important feature of the invention resides in the fact thatall of the tape for a given joint is mounted in the machine before thetaping operation is started,

-and where the total amount of tape used is the jointer which isobjectionable for the reasons previously stated and also because itconsumes a considerable amount of time.-

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is

1. In a taping machine, the combination of a carrier adapted to berotated about a stationary body which is to be taped, means forpreventing relative axial movements of the carrier and work, and rollsof tape mounted on the carrier and arranged in different distinct sets,the axes of which extend arallel to the axis of the body, said sets 0?rolls being angularly and axially displaced one set with respect to theother so that as the tapes are wound on the body the turns from eachroll of either set partially overlap those of two rolls of the otherset.

2. In a taping machine, the combination of a carrier adapted forrelative rotation with respect to the work, means for holding thecarrier and work against relative axial movement, and a plurality ofdistinct sets of rolls of tape pivotally mounted on the carrier andwhich are angularly and axially displaced one set with respect to theother on the carrier so that as the tapes are wound on the work byrotating the carrier the successive turns partially overlap, andtension-creating means for each of said tapes.

3. In a taping machine, the combinationof a carrier mounted to rotateabout the work, an axially-extending supporting member carried thereby,a row of contacting rolls of tape mounted to turn on the member, some inone direction and the remainder in the opposite direction as the carrieris rotated about the work, and friction-creating means whichexert'endwise pressure on the rolls to maintain them in contact andthereby impart tension to the tapes.

4. In a taping machine, the combination of a rotatable carrier whichsurrounds the work, an axially-extending supporting member mountedthereon, a set of rolls of relatively narrow tape arranged side by sidein frictional engagement and mounted to turn on the member, alternaterolls turning in one direction and the remainder in the oppositedirection during the winding operation, and means for exerting endwisefriction on the rolls to ii'nparttension to the tapes.

5. In a machine for taping electric conductor joints, the combination ofbearing membersadapted to be supported by the conductor 'on oppositeends of the joint, a carrier mounted to turn on the bearing members, andsets of rolls of tape pivotally mounted on the carrier to turnindependently thereof, said sets being angularly and axially displacedone with respect to the other so that as the carrier is rotated thetapes, as they are unwound from one set of rolls and wound on theconductor, will be partly overlapped by the tapes from another set.

6. In a machine for taping electric conductor joints, the combination ofa carrier mounted to be revolved around the axis of the conductor, setsof pivotally-mounte-d rolls mounted on the carrier, the rolls of one setbeing axially-displaced with respect to those of the other set by anamount less than the width of the tape, and a template mounted on thecarrier which determines the amount of tape that can be wound on thejoint from any one of the rolls.

7. In a machine for taping electric conductor joints, the combination ofa carrier which bridges the joint and is supported at its ends so as tobe rotatable about the axis ofthe joint, sets of rolls of tape pivotallymounted on the carrier so as to wind ta e on the conductor as thecarrier is rotate the tapes from one setof rolls overlapping those fromanother set, and an axially-extending template mounted on the carrierheads which determines the amount of tape that can be wound on the jointfrom said sets of rolls.

8. In a machine for taping electric conductor joints, the combination ofa carrier which bridges the joint and is supported at its ends so as tobe rotatable about the axis of the joint, a set of contacting rolls oftape pivotally mounted on the carrier so as to wind tape on theconductor as the carrier is rotated, the tape being fed from one side ofa part of the rolls and from the other side of the remainder so as tocause relative rotation of the rolls in opposite directions, means forexerting endwise pressure on the rolls so that the mutual frictionthereby induced between them produces tension on the tapes, and a meanswhich determines the amount of tape that can be wound on the joint fromeach of the successive rolls of tape.

9. In a machine for winding tape on intermediate portions oflongitudinally extending objects, the combination of a pair of end headseach of which includes a pair of hinged elements to permit of its beingmounted on and removed from the object, means which hold the heads inspaced rela tion, axially extending members which form angularlydisplaced supports, rolls of tape mounted in sets on the supports, saidrolls being so positioned that the tape from one set when wound on theobject will overlap the joints between turns of tape from the other set,and a template supported at its ends by the heads which determines theamount of tape that can be wound on the object from each of said rolls.

10. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pairof end heads, each of-which is made in two principal elements and unitedby a hinge so as to permit it to be closed and opened, members adaptedto be clamped on the object to be taped and which form bearings for theheads, means which hold the heads in spaced relation and which also formtension means and guides for the tape as it is wound on the work,members which form pivotal supports, rolls of tape mounted on thesupports, and additional means for imparting tension to the tape as itis being unwound from the rolls.

11. In a taping machine, the combination of a rotatable carrier whichsurrounds the work, sets of rolls of tape arranged to turn on parallelpivots on the carrier as the latter is rotated about the work, and meansarranged to guide the tapes from the tops of alternate rolls and fromthe bottoms of the others, one set of rolls being displaced axially fromthe other set by an amount suflicient to cause one set of tapes tooverlap the joints between adjacent turns of the other set of tapes whenapplied to the work.

12. In a taping machine, the combination of a carrier which surroundsthe work. the two being relatively rotatable, sets of rolls of tapemounted on the carrier one set behind the other, the rolls of each setbeing in sidewise contact, and a pivot for each set of rolls which ismounted on the carrier, the rolls being positioned thereon in suchmanner that as the tapes from one set of rolls are wound on the work thetapes from a second set of rolls are wound on top of the first tapes,and in such manner that each second-named tape partially covers the twoadjacent turns under it.

13. In a taping-machine, the combination of a pair of end heads, meansfor supporting the heads in spaced relation, supports carried by theheads, rolls of tape mounted thereon in sidewise contact, a collarmounted Ill) at one end of each support to form a seat for the end roll,and a spring ressed collar located at the opposite end each support toexert endwise pressure on the rolls.

14. In a taping machine, the combination of a pair of end heads, each ofwhich has a slot, means for supporting the heads in spaced relation,supports having end portions which enter said slots, means for clampingsaid portions in the head, rolls of tape mounted on said supports insidewise contact, and means for exerting axial pres sure on the rollscarried by the supports to maintain such contact.

15. In a taping machine, the combination of a pair of end heads adaptedto be rotated about the work, means for supporting the heads in spacedrelation and also carrying sets of rolls of tape, the latter beingapplied to the work as the heads and rolls are rotated, a template, theinner edge of which defines the contour of the structure built 11 on thework by unwinding of the tapes, an means for detachably securing thetemplate on said rotatable structure.

16. In a taping machine, the combination of a rotatable structure, rollsof tape arranged in sets and mountedon the structure, the axes of therolls extending parallel to the work, the rolls in one set being axiallydisplaced with respect to those of a second set so that as the tape iswound on the object the tape from one set of rolls overlaps the jointsbetween adjacent tapes of a second set, and means for adjusting one setof rolls with respect to another set in 'an axial direction.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 16 da of November,1926.

lKUIGI EMANUELI.

